Mid-height rack vs crossbars

[Alans17]

I’ve been researching a lot of options lately to increase my storage capacity for a family camping road trip and had finally decided on Billie Bars with some sort of basket like the JCR universal basket. When I priced it all out with molle panels, it came out to more than a mid-height rack, and honestly more than I had planned to spend. So I started giving mid-height racks a second look.

This post was originally going to be me asking the question about which is better and why, but I’ve pretty much decided on the Billie Bars after all. So instead, I’m creating a thread to list the reasons why...

• They’re way easier to take off and they break down to nothing. This can’t be overstated. I can pop them off to manually remove my top. I can pop them off to carry furniture. I can pop them off when parked backwards at the drive in theater. Etc etc etc...
• The slimness and lightness would allow me to hoist it up to above my garage door with the basket still attached.
• I might not even see them in the rear view mirror when not carrying a load.
• Even better vertical clearance than a mid-height rack when fully loaded. I’m a suburbanite. We have parking garages.
• ”Wife Acceptance Factor” - We share the Jeep and she doesn’t want a tricked out, agressive-looking off-road vehicle. Anything that would draw attention or impede her ability to drive the truck would get a thumbs down.
• Still allows a tonneau cover. Still provides molle panels.
• The high static load rating plus the lower height will make for a great viewing platform when the basket is empty. This may be a novelty, but I’m planning a big road trip with my family and I think this may come in handy.

Sponsored